Belgium Ready for Knockout Stage Against Senegal
Belgium arrive at the World Cup knockout rounds with something they haven’t enjoyed all tournament: a clean bill of health and a clear sense of direction.
Rudi Garcia cut a far more relaxed figure in Seattle on Tuesday. The group-stage grind is over, the injury list has finally emptied, and a squad that limped into the competition now looks ready to sprint into the last 16 against Senegal.
“Before this game against Senegal, we are lucky to have everyone available,” Garcia said. “That’s a good thing because it was not the case for the first three games. Everyone was not 100 percent, unfortunately, or everyone was not completely fit. But this is over.”
It has been a stuttering route to this point. Belgium opened Group G with back‑to‑back draws against Egypt and Iran, results that raised more questions than they answered about a side still trying to redefine itself after the so‑called golden generation. Then came the release: a 5-1 demolition of New Zealand that not only secured top spot but finally looked like Belgium.
The goals flowed, the movement clicked, and the mood shifted.
Crucially, the team’s biggest names are no longer being discussed in medical terms. Romelu Lukaku, the country’s all‑time leading scorer, arrived at this World Cup under a cloud after managing barely an hour of football for Napoli all season because of a persistent hamstring problem. He has been used carefully, off the bench, but even in limited minutes he has made his presence felt and given Belgium a focal point again.
Jeremy Doku, one of the side’s most explosive outlets, missed the second group game to be in London for the birth of his son. Charles De Ketelaere sat out the goalless draw with Iran nursing a knee issue. Two absences that stripped Belgium of incision and imagination between the lines.
Now, those concerns are fading.
“Jeremy, Romelu are getting better. Charles, I think that his problem is over as well,” Garcia said, underlining a very different atmosphere around the camp compared to the opening week. The tension of patching together line‑ups and managing minutes has given way to something closer to what a coach wants at this stage: choice, competition, and genuine options from the bench.
Garcia has been honest about the group stage. First place, yes. Convincing from start to finish, no.
“We wanted to end first in the group and this is what we did,” he said. “I wish we had won more games, all the games, but we’re not going to go back in the past. What matters now is that we progressed out of the group stage.”
That line tells its own story. Belgium know they have not yet produced a complete performance against a heavyweight opponent. They also know that, from here, there is no margin for error.
Senegal await, and with them a very different test of Belgium’s resolve. This is where the World Cup tightens, where one poor half can undo three weeks of work. Inside the Belgian camp, there is no illusion about that.
De Ketelaere, now back in the frame and speaking with the clarity of someone who has just watched the tournament tilt on its axis, pointed to Paraguay’s shock win over Germany on Monday as a warning shot to every so‑called favourite.
“I don’t think it matters who is the favourite,” the Atalanta forward said. “It matters that we have confidence in ourselves and that we are sharp tomorrow to just go win this game, because yesterday showed us that to be favourites or not, it doesn’t matter.
“We need to be alert and sharp to win the game.”
That is the tone now: less talk of status, more about edge. Belgium have survived their uneven start, ridden out injuries and absences, and still emerged on top of Group G. The safety net has gone. The excuses have gone with it.
All that’s left is a fully fit squad, a knockout tie against a dangerous Senegal, and a simple question: is this the moment Belgium finally start playing like a team that plans to stay in this World Cup to the very end?
